Tokyo Film Festival opens with 'green' carpet

The Tokyo International Film Festival kicked off on Saturday with an environmental theme and stars including American actress Julianne Moore and Hong Kong actor Tony Leung Chiu-wai walking a "green" carpet made of recycled plastic bottles.

Japanese-Taiwanese heartthrob Takeshi Kaneshiro, popular Japanese actor Satoshi Tsumabuki and film director John Woo waved at fans during the opening ceremony at Tokyo's glitzy Roppongi Hills, one of the two main venues for the festival.

The 21st film show is backed by the Japanese government. Prime Minister Taro Aso greeted Woo, Leung and Kaneshiro at the ceremony. The theme of this year's nine-day festival is the environment, said Genki Nagaya, one of the organizers. It includes an ecology category with films on the environment and documentaries about climate change and animals.

Woo's historical epic "Red Cliff," starring Leung and Kaneshiro, will have a special screening. Based on a famous battle in third-century China, "Red Cliff" is Woo's first Chinese film after a 16-year stint in Hollywood, where he made hits such as "Face/Off" and "Mission: Impossible II."

The Hollywood trade publication

Variety

has said "Red Cliff" is the most expensive Asian production in history, with a reported cost of US$80 million. It is not among the 15 Japanese and foreign films vying for the festival's top prize of US$100,000.